Sarkozy Cancels London Trip. Sacre Bleu, Etc.

The French president has called off a proposed trip to London on Friday for talks with Gordon Brown, it has been confirmed.

Sarkozy bids farewell to Israel’s Tzipi Livni after their meeting at the Elysee Palace in Paris on Thursday.

It was reported that Sarko would travel to Britain hoping to quell the row over the future of the City. He has been crowing that the appointment of a Frenchman as the EU commissioner for the single market doomed the “Anglo-Saxon model.” Gordon Brown and Alistair Darling, who are not remotely Anglo-Saxon but completely Scottish, liked this not one jot.

Now, the proposed talks to smooth over the diplomatic wrangle are off. Which will lead to talk of a new diplomatic wrangle about the failure to resolve the previous diplomatic wrangle.

“Diary commitments” are being blamed for the visit being called off with a Number 10 spokesman telling Dow Jones Newswires: “There were discussions between Number 10 and the Elysee about a potential visit by President Sarkozy to London. However, diary constraints meant that a meeting this week was not possible. The prime minister is looking forward to seeing the president at the European Council in Brussels next week,” the spokesman said.